Today marks a deadline for California gas station owners to have complied with new pump vapor emissions standards.  The new standards set by the State Air Resources Board require installation of new nozzles, and in some cases computer systems designed to prevent spills.

The standards are designed to prevent gasoline vapors from escaping into the atmosphere.

Gasoline vapors consist largely of hydrocarbons which react with other pollutants to form ozone, a major ingredient in smog.  According to the Air Resources Board the new equipment will "eliminate the daily release of up to 10 tons of smog forming compounds from spills and fugitive emissions."

Gasoline vapors also contain benzene, a volatile organic compound (VOC) and dangerous carcinogen.  Exposure to Benzene is known cause rare blood disorders such as myelodysplastic syndromes, aplastic anemia, non-hodgkins lymphoma, and acute myelogenous leukemia.  

 "[The new nozzles] will reduce consumer exposures to benzene, a known carcinogen".-Air resources Board

If you live in California you may have noticed that vapor reducing nozzles have been  widely used for some time, but the new nozzles represent a significant improvement in vapor reduction.  The new systems include vacuum pumps which actually suck gas vapors back into the tank.

The price of retrofit starts at $20,000 and goes up depending on pump numbers.  Station owners are expected to shoulder the cost.

According to the Associated Press lawmakers are considering emergency legislation to “ease the financial pain of a retrofit.”  

Tags: "volatile organic compounds" VOC's "gasoline vapors", benzene "non-hodgkins lymphoma" "aplastic anemia" "myelodysplastic syndromes" leukemia, gasoline vapors, Information-News, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, VOC's, volatile organic compounds